Drinks Bottling Line Finance

Spread the cost of a drinks bottling line from £15,000 to £200,000 with flexible finance options. HP, lease, or refinance, compare rates from 40+ lenders.

Can you finance a drinks bottling line?

Yes, drinks bottling lines are financed as a standard asset purchase, usually on hire purchase or a lease, with the machine itself acting as the security. UK prices typically run £15,000 to £200,000, and most deals are written over 36–84 months with a deposit of around 15–20%. Decisions typically take 24–72 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

Typical Cost

£15k – £200k

Approval Speed

24–72 hours

3–5 days for > £75k

Rates From

6.5% APR

What would a drinks bottling line cost per month?

Drinks Bottling Line price (ex VAT) £65,000

Deposit 10%

Agreement term 60 months

Annual interest rate 9%

Balloon payment £0

Your estimate

Indicative only. Not a quote and not an offer of finance.

Pre-filled with a typical drinks bottling line price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate: From 6.9% APR
Term: 36–84 months
Deposit: 15–20%
Ownership: Yours at the end
Best for: Drinks producers wanting to own the line outright

Finance Lease

Rate: From 6.5% APR
Term: 36–84 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return or buy (balloon payment)
Best for: Producers keeping cash for stock, packaging and duty

Operating Lease

Rate: From 7.5% APR
Term: 48–72 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return at end
Best for: Producers scaling volume who expect to upgrade line speed within a few years

Representative example

On a purchase price of £65,000: a 10% deposit of £6,500, then 48 monthly payments of £1,371 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £72,308, including the deposit. The rate you are offered depends on your business and the asset.

What buyers actually specify

Guide prices for sizing a finance agreement, not quotes. Manufacturers in this market mostly price on application, so where a current UK list price could not be confirmed the row describes a specification class rather than naming a model. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.

Machine or specification	Guide price	Type
Enterprise Tondelli semi-automatic bottling line	£25,000 – £70,000 (indicative, confirm current price with an Enterprise Tondelli dealer)	Semi-Automatic Bottling Line
Enterprise Tondelli fully automatic monobloc line	£80,000 – £180,000 (indicative, confirm current price with an Enterprise Tondelli dealer)	Fully Automatic Monobloc Line
Manual gravity-fill bottling bench (specification class)	£15,000 – £30,000	Manual Gravity-Fill Bench
Compact craft-scale filler, corker and labeller set (specification class)	£30,000 – £55,000	Compact Craft Line

Tax benefits

A drinks bottling line is a moveable item of plant and normally qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance, letting you set the full cost against taxable profits in the year of purchase up to the prevailing AIA limit, which your accountant can confirm. Where the line is integrated into fixed conveyors and services as part of a wider production hall fit-out, that surrounding installation work can be treated differently from the line itself for capital allowances, so it's worth getting your accountant to confirm the split. Hire purchase preserves the allowance for the buyer from day one; finance lease and operating lease payments are instead deducted as a revenue expense as they're paid.

Market context

Bottling lines are bought by breweries, distilleries, wineries, soft drinks producers and cider makers moving from manual or outsourced bottling to in-house production, usually once volume makes it cheaper to bottle themselves than to pay a contract bottler. Because a bottling line is a major capital item for a typically small or mid-sized drinks producer, most buyers finance it to keep cash available for stock, packaging materials and, where relevant, duty payments, rather than tying up all their capital in one purchase. Upgrading is generally driven by production volume outgrowing line speed rather than the equipment wearing out, since well-maintained fillers and cappers can run for many years, and a reasonable used market exists for established manufacturers, supporting asset-backed finance for smaller producers.

Bad credit?

Several of our 200+ lenders specialise in businesses with imperfect credit histories. You may need a larger deposit or personal guarantee, but options exist. Checking your options here does not affect your credit score, because we do not run a credit search to match you. A lender will run their own checks only if you decide to apply.

Frequently asked questions

Should I buy a bottling line or keep using a contract bottler?

That depends on your volume: contract bottling avoids the capital cost of a line but adds a per-bottle charge and reduces control over scheduling and quality, while owning a line brings fixed monthly finance costs but no per-unit bottling fee once installed. Many producers move to owning a line once volume reaches the point where the finance payment costs less per month than the contract bottler's fees on the same output.

Can conveyors, labellers and packaging equipment be included in one agreement?

Yes, most lenders will finance a full line, filler, capper or corker, labeller and conveyors, on a single agreement if they're all shown on the supplier's invoice, which is the usual way these lines are financed rather than funding each machine separately.

Does a bottling line need excise or food safety approval?

Bottling alcoholic drinks typically requires the relevant excise approvals from HMRC, and any drinks producer needs to meet food safety and hygiene standards for the premises, but these are separate regulatory matters from the equipment finance itself. It's worth having those approvals in hand or well progressed before ordering a line, since a lender will want confidence the business can legally operate it.

What deposit is typical for a bottling line?

Hire purchase deposits typically run 15% to 20%. Given the size of a fully automatic line, a larger deposit can make a meaningful difference to the monthly payment, and some lenders will consider a lower deposit for an established producer with strong trading accounts.